Jenna Mountain didn’t hesitate with the crowd as she opened her workshop, saying, “Pornography has shifted our culture of sexuality and it’s a problem. It’s taken away God’s good gift of sexuality.”...

BOUNCE Student Disaster Recovery’s mission is to restore hope, rebuild communities and reflect Christ. In 2019, they will do that by giving students the opportunity to be a part of the continued disaster recovery work for Hurricane Harvey, as well as new efforts to partner with church starts in Texas...

During Tuesday morning’s worship service of the 2018 Texas Baptists Family Gathering, Ralph West, pastor and founder of The Church Without Walls, in Houston, Texas, preached a powerful message on oneness...

On Monday evening, Texas Baptists African American Ministries presented the 25th Anniversary Culp Banquet, honoring the legacy of Dr. James W. Culp, Sr., who went to be with the Lord on July 22.&nbsp...

Dr. Steve Mullen joined the Texas Baptists staff this summer as the new Director of Theological Education. In his role with Texas Baptists, Mullen will plan and coordinate the work of the Theological Education Council; oversee the ministerial financial assistance program; and build bridges among churches, educational institutions and the convention, among other responsibilities...

Born out of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Dallas, a church that ministers to immigrant families residing in Texas, Pathway Dallas is focused on loving the next generation of Ethiopian believers. In order to accomplish this, a specific pastor was needed - one that deeply understood both Ethiopian and modern American culture. Nebiye Kelile was that pastor...

James Hardin of First Baptist Dallas won this year’s National Invitational Speakers’ Tournament, held on June 14-15 at Mountain Park First Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Josh Britton of First Baptist Church of Allen also competed in the High School Bible Drill portion of the tournament while Joseph Stalcup of First Baptist Church Breckenridge competed in Youth Bible Drill...

The third cohort of Leadership Texas Baptists was honored during Texas Baptists’ Executive Board Meeting on May 21. The graduation celebration, held during Monday evening’s session, awarded and recognized the 11 emerging young leaders for their hard work and dedication during the nine-month long program...

Two hundred students and their families gathered on May 20 for the Go Now Missions Commissioning Service held at Dallas Baptist University. The service was an opportunity for families and friends to worship alongside the student missionaries before leaving for mission across the world...

The National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc. held their Annual Tent Revival from April 23-26 at East Gate Baptist Church in Dallas. This was the first year for Texas Baptists to partner with the NBCA to help host this event...

The Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas (WMU) hosted their Annual Meeting and Missions Celebration on April 13-14 at First Baptist Church Georgetown. The focus of this meeting was to pursue God’s Gospel-calling. The event challenged attendees to make an impact in their communities for the Kingdom through passionately telling His story, creatively empowering leaders and obediently engaging the world for Christ...

Each year, deep in the heart of Texas, Texas Baptists meet on the first Sunday in June at the historic Independence Baptist Church to honor individuals who have represented Texas Baptists exceedingly well...

Project:Start, a refugee resource center supported by Texas Baptists, works to connect refugees in Dallas with the resources they need to find stability. Currently, thousands of refugees live within just a three-mile stretch of the North Dallas neighborhood called Vickery Meadow where over 30 different languages are spoken...

For the first time, Texas Baptists Chaplaincy Relations is adding an additional opportunity for their annual Pastoral Training Event, to be held in Williamsburg, Virginia. The event, typically held in the fall in Texas, allows chaplains to maintain a high level of proficiency in pastoral care ministry while giving them a time for spiritual renewal, continuing education, networking and fellowship...

When Gaston Oaks Baptist Church faced the impending reality of closing its doors for good, leadership in the church sought to utilize the resources and property the Lord had given them to keep their ministry alive. The result was a reimagined ministry that would reach the nations right in their neighborhood. They named this new endeavor the Gaston Christian Center....

Sometimes UT gets assumed to be a godless place, but the reality is every day Jesus is engaging one of the 45,000 lost students with His Gospel and we get to watch that happen and we get to watch what people assume to be godless be incredibly glorifying...

From March 12-13 & March 15-16, the 580 students and student leaders volunteering with BOUNCE Student Disaster Recovery completed projects such as installing drywall, insulation, siding, painting and flooring for homeowners who had been affected by the disaster...

Harvey Abke, senior pastor of Burleson County Cowboy Church (BC3), has experienced more of God’s blessing on his church than ever before.

BC3 began six years ago as a church plant of First Baptist Church of Caldwell. Located in a community of cowboys, ranchers and rodeo and arena people, a cowboy church was a necessity. Leaders at FBC Caldwell prayed about starting a new church for two-and-a-half years, and then God opened the door. What started out as a Bible study with 25 people transformed into a booming church, with 104 people at their first service, which is still rapidly growing with several hundred in attendance each...

“It's a blessing to have Tom Howe on the Missions Team,” said Josue Valerio, director of the Missions Team. “Tom is a team player that brings his pastoral giftedness, experience and creativity, and a spiritual leader who trusts that God's Spirit is in the midst of whatever reality we face.&rdquo...

First Baptist Church Caldwell, a church established almost 170 years ago, felt a call to reach a largely segment population in their community - cowboys. With the help of Texas Baptists Cooperative Program and community residents, FBC Caldwell helped start Burleson County Cowboy Church, which has become the largest protestant congregation in their rural community. Learn more about how this cowboy church in a cowboy town is fulfilling its purpose to reach lost souls for Christ.

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﻿Pastor Steve Johnson, FBC Caldwell: First Baptist Caldwell has been around for almost 170 years. It's kind of hard for us to step out...

We are pleased to have John as a part of the Missions Foundation team. He brings extensive development experience and will be working with donors west to Kerrville and east to College Station. He is a committed Baptist layman with a heart to help people use their resources to make a difference for God's kingdom...

Texas Baptists was recently recognized by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) with an evangelism award for the “Highest Number of Baptisms” for the 2016 calendar year. Texas Baptists churches had a recorded 28,765 baptisms, making this the second year in a row for Texas Baptists to receive this national award.&nbsp...

DALLAS -- Texas Baptists welcome Daniel DeLeon as the new Area 3 Representative of the Rio Grande Valley, from Del Rio to Brownsville, as of January 2.

“Living on the US-Mexico border gave me the opportunity at a very young age to get involved in ministry in exciting ways. My first experiences in ministry included times when I had to translate Bible stories from English into Spanish. God used my bilingual skills to overcome the language barrier, and it was then when I began to enjoy bringing people together, but most importantly connecting them with the message of Jesus,” said DeLeon.

As Texas Tech’s campus is growing, so is the ministry and vision of Tech BSM. A new building will generate excitement among an increasing student population and will provide additional space that the BSM currently lacks, including a prayer room, missions room, leadership training area and a larger meeting room. These areas will serve as a catalyst to help them accomplish their vision of reaching the campus...

DALLAS -- Texas Baptists welcomes Steve Massey as the new Vice President of Texas Baptist Mission Foundation (TBMF) as of January 2.

"I am so pleased to have Steve on our staff. His experience as a development officer and a committed churchman will fit well on the Missions Foundation team," said Bill Arnold, president of TBMF.

He began his career serving in various roles in the corporate world before transitioning into full-time ministry. He served for six years as Vice President of Development for Buckner International, and most recently, as Vice President of Development for e3 Partners/I Am Second. Massey has a Bachelors of...

It started raining on Friday, August 25, in Hull, Texas. By Sunday night, the water began to invade homes and buildings, compromising the town’s safety. The rains, a result of Hurricane Harvey, didn’t stop until Wednesday, the town was paralyzed until Thursday. The terror remained long after.

Like many churches, FBC Hull served as a first responder to this tragic natural disaster, and their focus was the surrounding communities.

“We were focusing on people in their homes here,” said John Guedry, pastor of FBC Hull. “When people who already in the last days of August didn’t know if they would be able to afford rent for September...

DALLAS–Texas Baptists welcomes Bob Billups as the new Publisher of BaptistWay Press.

“Bob brings a wealth of BGCT experience and wonderful talent to the task,” said Associate Executive Director Steve Vernon. “BaptistWay Press is one of the best publications of its type anywhere. The writers and editing are superb. Bob brings to the publisher's role experience in relationships with many churches and church leaders across the state as well as entrepreneurial skills to promote the Connect 360 literature and other products in the BaptistWay line.”

Bevil Oaks, a small town located in Jefferson County on the outskirts of Beaumont, is a relatively quiet place. The neighborhoods are beautiful, the community is active and the people are kind. However, these characteristics did not protect the town from the harsh reality of Hurricane Harvey.

The rain began Friday, Aug. 25. As the storm grew worse, Robert Ring, worship pastor of First Baptist Church of Bevil Oaks, decided to make the call to cancel their Sunday morning church service.

“On Sunday, water began coming up into friends’ yards, and we weren’t sure how high the water would be getting. For us, the main part of Harvey...

Danny Reeves, president of Texas Baptists, confronted the audience with this sobering question during his presidential address at the 2017 Texas Baptists Annual Meeting.

“Between national debt, natural disasters, shootings and terrorists attacks, it seems like our culture is in complete disintegration. Some days I feel like I’ve had enough. The word that would sum this up is catastrophe.”

He continued, “Brothers and sisters in Christ, the question I ask you today is a recurring question Texas Baptists has been trying to answer all year long: In the midst of chaos in our world, what...

As Texas Baptists are called to live “Compelled” at this years’ Annual Meeting, nine churches were recognized for their Cooperative Program giving. Since 1925, the Cooperative Program has provided the fuel to fund mission work in Texas, the United States and all around the world.

“The Cooperative Program is effective because of the generosity of thousands of Texas Baptists churches working together,” said Chris Liebrum, director of the Office of Cooperative Program Ministry. “The churches we recognize at Annual Meeting represent giving among nine categories of church size and ethnicity, all exemplary in their commitment to mission...

“What is a theology of care? How is this appropriate in our church and our lives?” asked Rev. Byron Stevenson, pastor of The Fort Bend Church in Sugar Land, at the 2017 Texas Baptists Annual Meeting workshop, “A Theology of Caring.” Stevenson opened the workshop with a time of prayer and worship to God, for “He is good and He is kind.”

The encouragement he shared was anchored in Matthew 9:35-36, when Jesus was moved with compassion for the multitudes.

“One of the things that blesses our church are the five pillars of faith our church is built upon - trust, faith, kindness, liberal giving and compassion,” said Stevenson. “And...

Moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and grandparents alike gathered on a beautiful Sunday night at Top Hand Cowboy Church in Valley Mills, Texas for a time of fellowship and to kick off the 132ndTexas Baptists Annual Meeting. The smell of southern barbecue filled the air and laughter and conversation flowed freely throughout the room as the church hosted the annual Cowboy Church Roundup on Nov. 12 in Waco.

Inside the church, a banner with vibrant red letters listed the church's main priorities: “Prayer, Bible study, serving God & others, and missions.” At the bottom of the banner read Matthew 22:37-40, the foundational verses of the...

Before stepping onto the University of Texas at Arlington campus as a freshman, Ashleigh Hood had a lack confidence in her relationship with Jesus.

Though she had been exposed to the Gospel and attended church semi-regularly, Hood felt her faith had never been her own.

“I hadn’t accepted Christ. I had been baptized, but out of a social obligation. There wasn’t any meaning for me behind it,” said Hood.

For a multitude of reasons, including being surrounded by poor influences and feeling like she didn’t fit in with the church crowd, Hood abandoned church altogether by the time she was in high school. However, everything would...

Located west of Decatur, Bridgeport is a town of 6,500 people. Though it’s small in size, residents like Martha Montejano are working to make a significant difference.

Montejano’s past was marked with difficulties. However, through the Lord’s redemption in her own life, Montejano has allowed her love for Christ and deep understanding of what it’s like to grow up lacking to drive her to be a light in her community.

Ten years ago, as she was going about her normal routine at her hair salon, The Hair Shop, Berniece Landers walked in for her first appointment. She sat down in Montejano’s chair and shared about Pleasant View Baptist...

Through donated resources, the church has been ministering to the community around them

With the help of partner churches, $20,000 has been raised to go toward the church rebuilding process

HOUSTON–“We couldn’t believe it. We never thought this would happen. We were here in the church worshiping the night before the flood, and we could have never imaged what was to come,” said Pastor Jesus Guillen of Iglesia Bautista Redencion of Houston.

The Texas Baptists Connections Team welcomes Dr. Steve Dominy as the new Area 8 Representative for the Dallas area on Nov. 1.

“We are very excited that Dr. Dominy is joining our team,” said Director of Connections Dowell Loftis. “He deeply loves the Lord and His Church. Having been a pastor for many years himself, he understands the unique challenges and pressures our pastors face each and every day.”

Dominy received his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and his Doctor of Ministry from George W. Truett Theological Seminary.

He pastored churches in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas for a combined 22...

This year at the annual Mission Awards Luncheon, Texas Baptist Mission Foundation will honor Robert H. Pinder, Robert O. “Bob” Feather and First Baptist Church of Belton for the outstanding impact they have made in Texas Baptists ministry.

The three awards given include the Adventurer Award for Leadership in Missions, the Innovator Award for Creativity in Missions and the Pioneer Award for Service in Missions.

Pinder will receive the Adventurer Award, which honors an individual or organization who advanced missions through outstanding financial support or leadership in ministry opportunities.

From the hours after Hurricane Harvey, FBC Nederland has reached out to serve their community

FBC Nederland is one TBM/Texas Baptists Volunteer Village where churches can send volunteer teams to help with recovery efforts

They total number of meals prepared and sent out from the church was just over 318,000

NEDERLAND–“Things really started to get bad on Tuesday night (Aug. 29). It started raining here, and it was raining hard. I kept thinking, ‘this is going to settle down, just like any other storm,’ but it didn’t. About 10:00 p.m., we were at our house, flooded in. We couldn’t get out,” said Jason Burden, pastor of...

For Metrey Pheap Baptist Church in Houston, floods are nothing new. However, as they are recovering from Hurricane Harvey, this church is working harder than ever to serve those in need.

In both 2003 and 2005, the church experienced extensive flooding, resulting in a combined $30,000 worth of damage. This past August, the destruction of Hurricane Harvey caused double the damage, with an estimated repair cost of $60,000. Though this is the third time the church has flooded, it is the first time they are experiencing a total loss.

“The first day we were was able to come and see the church after the storm, everyone cried,” said Ty...

Texas Baptists are celebrating their call to “Live Compelled” at this years’ Annual Meeting in Waco, Nov. 12-14. For up-to-date information including schedule, speakers, business and more, go to texasbaptists.org/annualmeeting. Online registration for your church is available until Nov. 1.

“In the Bible our New Testament ancestors were compelled by the Spirit, compelled to preach, and compelled to contend for the faith,” said Danny Reeves, Texas Baptists president and pastor of First Baptist Church of Corsicana. “However, the most striking proclamation came from the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:14. Paul wrote, ‘For Christ’s...

Even as darkness fell and waters were rising on Aug. 25 when Hurricane Harvey made landfall, the people of God quickly came together to be the glimmering beacon of hope that Texas needed.

The following Sunday, Pastor Mike Martin of First Baptist Church of Huffman made several visits around town before the heavy rains hit. He stopped at the local volunteer fire department and told them the church was available if they needed help. Within an hour, the fire department contacted him and asked if the church could be used as a shelter.

By the time the storms arrived in Huffman, a small town in Harris County, members of the church...

The cost of school supplies can add up quickly, and the list is exhaustive. Churches like Friendship Baptist Church of The Colony have aimed to help solve this problem by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ through both word and deed.

Every year, the youth department, the health and wellness ministry, members and volunteers at Friendship Baptist Church work fervently to put on their annual Health Fair – Free School Supplies and Back to School Youth Rally.

As it says in the name, this event is so much more than a back-to-school drive. It’s a full day on their church campus that prepares their youth for the back to school...

“Reaching 50-year-olds is the same thing that reaches 24-year-olds - invite them to come and see. If you personally know the King, then compel them to come in,” said Todd Wagner, senior pastor of Watermark Church in Dallas, at the National Boomer Ministry Conference on Sept. 7.

He continued, “The mark that is going to reach all people of every generation is love. Without love, nothing matters.”

More than 117 church leaders and volunteers from 58 churches and organizations learned skills and techniques to engage the boomer generation in ministry at the fifth annual National Boomer Ministry Conference on Sept. 6-8 at Park Cities...

On Sept. 14, as people across the Metroplex give to various community organizations through North Texas Giving Day, Texas Baptists are encouraging donations to Project: Start, a refugee resource center located in Vickery Meadow.

With over 30 different languages spoken, their needs are as diverse as the community itself.

Over the last 12 months, Project: Start has impacted close to 300 families, either directly with referrals or by creating capacity for others to assist and minister to refugee families.

“We are excited to serve those that come through our doors just as much as we are thankful for opportunities to impact dozens...

For those attending two-year community colleges, a lack of strong Christian community is a prevalent struggle. Whether students commute, work a full-time job or have a family, it is challenging for students to find others to walk through life with. However, churches are seeking to solve this problem by partnering with Texas Baptists Collegiate Ministry to start their very own Baptist Student Ministries.

“Due to the large number of college students in Texas (1.6 million), the opportunities are so vast that we need a combination of both church-based and campus-based Baptist Student ministries,” said Bruce McGowan, director of Texas...

Brenda Bermudez and her family are just a few of many who have experienced the Lord’s redemption in their lives in the modest colonia of Mi Sueno in the Rio Grande Valley.

As a single mother of five, Bermudez’s life has been anything but easy. Bermudez has endured the pangs of divorce, financial stress and limited resources and space. She often relied on her own strength rather than the Lord’s, something that would quickly come to a halt.

Though suffering had been a common theme in Bermudez’s life, she continually sought to provide for her children above all else. Upon hearing about a Vacation Bible School happening in a nearby...

“Bible Drill has given me a love for the Bible and an understanding that I need to consistently be in God’s Word to understand His Will for my life,” said Katie Davidson, Bible Drill participant. “It’s given me more confidence in myself. I was initially quiet, scared to get in front of people and talk in general, but Bible Drill encouraged me get out of my comfort zone and do things I had never done before, including teaching others about Jesus.”

For Davidson and Anna Kemp, First Baptist Church of Allen students, Bible Drill and Speakers’ Tournament is so much more than memorizing words on a page. For them, these events have...

Children need to know and experience love. They need consistent adults and leaders in their lives who are willing to seek to understand them and meet them where they are. That is what the Texas Baptists’ Childhood Ministry Summit sought to accomplish - to equip ministers in childhood leadership to clearly and meaningfully plan, effectively teach and learn to value how children and preschoolers learn so they might have a genuine relationship with God.

“Trust is the foundation piece for almost every single thing we do in our lives. If trust is not wired in a child by 14 months, it’s much harder to accomplish. It takes many...

Texas Baptists’ new Mission initiative, the Missionary Adoption Program (MAP), exists to partner churches in Texas with churches in Brazil to jointly sponsor missionaries. These missionaries focus on evangelism, discipleship and church planting.

In other words, “MAP is about planting churches intentionally with indigenous peoples,” said Jair Campos, director of Texas Baptists’ MAP.

Campos, a native of Brazil, has experience as a missionary in Europe. While he was overseas, individuals from his church decided to sponsor him financially to ensure that he could continue his work without any worry.

DALLAS - Texas Baptists Church Starting welcomes Tom Revilla as the new church starter for Area 6, Central Texas. This area spans from Austin to Central East Texas.

“I am excited to have Tom Revilla join our Church Starting Team,” said Paul Atkinson, director of Church Starting. “Tom brings high levels of experience in all aspects of church leadership. His recent work with Buckner International and Life Church of San Antonio have given him a set of skills which will benefit his work with new church starts in Central Texas. Texas Baptists is fortunate and blessed to welcome Tom Revilla to the Texas Baptists staff.”

The 2017 African American Fellowship Conference (AAFC) was held from July 10-13 at Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Tyler. This year’s theme was Harambee: Bringing Us Together, drawn from Psalm 133:1.

“The Harambee theme was borrowed from the East African nation of Kenya. It means ‘all put together.’ Things really do go better when Christ’s followers work together,” said Dr. Roy Cotton, director of African American Ministries.

The event commenced with a Sweet Hour of Prayer (SHOP) on Monday evening.

“AAFC could not have started in a better way. Anything we do, we want to bathe it in prayer before we get started,” commented...

DALLAS–Texas Baptists, alongside the Institute for Bible Translation (Moscow, Russia) and Global Heart Ministries (Plano, TX), recently hosted a historic presentation of the first translation of the Holy Bible into the Uzbek language.

Uzbekistan, listed among countries where Christians face the most severe persecution for their faith, has never seen a full translation of the Bible in their language. However, through the work of the Institute for Bible Translation, that has changed.

Now, for the first time in the history of Uzbekistan and its people around the world, Uzbeks will have the complete Bible in their language. This is...

With a heart for missions and church planting, members of Texoma Cowboy Church in Wichita Falls have traveled on three mission trips to Olanchito, Honduras, in efforts of planting new cowboy churches. Known as the “Christian Cowboys” to the local people, the church has sought to pour into and build relationships with the people of the community.

Their most recent trip to Honduras took place from February 27 to March 4. In past trips, members of the church have focused on evangelism and community involvement, but this third trip was unique. While watching a soccer game a few years ago in Olanchito, an idea came to Jay Lawson...

INDEPENDENCE - Friends and family of Dr. Paul Stripling and Elmin Howell gathered together in Independence, Texas, on June 4 to honor their lives and legacies in Texas Baptists ministry at the 2017 Texas Baptists Legacy Awards.

Executive Director David Hardage began the awards ceremony at the historical site of Independence Baptist Church by sharing from Matthew 5:16, setting the stage for the two Legacy Award recipients.

Drawing from the verse, Hardage expressed that it is not our choice to let our light shine, but rather our obligation as Christians. In all the works we do, we are to be noticed by the world. “Our shining is...